Headstrong
by lizzle333
Summary: Arthur is used to life of desk work in the espionage workplace but his world is turned upside down when he becomes a field agent working with an American agent to take down a terrorist headquarters. Not only does he have to survive the dangers of field work, he also has to sort out his growing feeling for his new partner.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"You're being reassigned." My boss said in his usual, condescending tone.

"I'm what?!" I exclaimed, a little worried.

"You'll be working in the field with a CIA agent. The details of the case are in the folder you received."

"But sir! I'm a behind the scenes type of person! I have no experience in the field."

"You're test say you're ready. After this you can go back to you normal work. You are dismissed."

I turned and left his office. I walked over to my desk and pulled out the manila folder I had found on my desk yesterday. I carefully slid it in my briefcase and pulled on my long overcoat. i took my hat of the hanger and nodded to my college.

"Leaving early?" he asked.

"Got to read up on my new case." I replied.

I rode the elevator up a couple of floors until I had reached ground level. I steppes out onto the busy streets of London and walked over to my black Mercedes Benz. The ride to my apartment was rather long, mainly because of the cluttered streets. When I finally arrived, I said hello to the land lady and hurried upstairs.

I hung my coat in my closet and threw my hat on the door knob. I sat down on the leather arm chair and pulled out the folder. I opened it and looked at all of the documents. Basically I was supposed to find the location of the Al Queda hideout and exterminate anyone there with the help of the American agent. I was to meet the American in two days time in Washington D.C. at 1800 Eastern Standard Time. He would take me to the CIA where I would be debriefed further on the case. Why couldn't I work with a cryptologist from the NSA!

I ran my hand through my blonde hair and got up to get ready for bed. I pulled on my stripped jammies. I brushed my teeth and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Blonde hair, green eyes, and as pale as fuck. I wonder what the American will be like. Hopefully they'll be intelligent and able to help me in the field.

…

I awoke to the screaming of my alarm clock. I got up and brewed a fresh pot of coffee before starting to pack. I only put the essentials in my small suitcase. Suits, shoes, hygiene materials, and socks. My briefcase was packed with the usual items. Laptop, case file, and gadgets undetectable by the airline security.

I dressed and then pulled on my coat and hat. I picked up my luggage and headed out to the street to hail a taxi. The ride to the airport wasn't that bad. There was still traffic, like always, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday.

I got through airport security with no problem and took a seat at the terminal. A man dressed in an all black suit walked over and sat down beside me.

"Another rainy day." He said nonchalantly.

"Yep. That's how it is in London." I replied.

He handed me an envelope before continuing.

"The American will arm you. I just have one last message from the boss."

"Thanks."

After that was said he got up and left. I will have to look at the envelope later. I don't want some civilian to see something they probably shouldn't. I probably knew what it said because I had to deliver these types of messages plenty of times before. That was the only field experience I had. I wonder how I passed the field agent test? My physical abilities are not top notch and I'm not a very good shot either (although I have been working on it).

"Flight 991 to Washington Regan International Airport is now boarding." said a voice over the intercom.

I guess that's my cue. I grabbed my briefcase and boarded the plane. Before anyone else could see me I read the letter I had gotten earlier.

_Dear Arthur,_

_Good luck on your first field mission. I have full faith in you're ability to finish this case. Don't forget every tip I gave you back when you were training for the agency. _

_ Sincerely,_

_ Boss_

Yeah, this is what I expected. He usually gives words of encouragement to an agent going on a new mission. I tucked the paper away in my brief case and drifted to sleep.

…

I awoke to the jolt of landing. Did I really sleep the whole flight? Oh well. When the plane had come to a complete stop I unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled out my briefcase from under the seat.

When I arrived in baggage claim, I notices a man around my age holding a sign with my name on it. He has dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that flitted around beneath black glasses. He was wearing a black suit and was looking very refined.

"Hello." I said to him.

"Hey man have you seen a dude named Arthur around." He replied.

I was dumbstruck. Was this the American agent I was supposed to meet up with? Maybe it's just part of his cover.

"I am Arthur." I said timidly.

"You are! Sweet! I already got your suitcase so let's hit the road"

He gestured to my bag sitting beside him.

"How did you know it was mine?" I asked.

"It has you're name on it."

"I guess so."

I followed him out to where a black Mercedes Benz, similar to mine, was running, ready for us to hop in and drive to god knows where. I got in on the passenger side and buckled in while the American put my suitcase in the back. When he got back in on the drivers side we were finally able to leave.

"I don't believe I know your name." I said to him after we had been driving for a while.

"My names Alfred." He replied, smiling as a way of holding out a hand to shake when he was driving. I smiled back.

After about an hour of driving we stopped at a steak house.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"Eating. Man I'm starved!" he replied as e dragged me into the restaurant.

"But doesn't your agency want me over there?"

"Yeah. But at 0800 hours tomorrow."

"You're shitting me right?"

"Nope."

He turned and talked with the hostess and she led us to a table set for two. I sat down and looked at the menu. It was all so different from what I was used to. I must have been making a face because Alfred said "If you can't decide just go with the flank steak." I nodded. I guess I'm getting a flank steak.

The waitress came and got our orders. I ordered the flank steak. I lost track of all the crap Alfred got. Does he eat like this on a regular basis? Life as a field agent must be really taxing. When we got our food Alfred dug in and couldn't watch him eat. It was too disgusting. I decided I would listen to the conversation to young men were having behind me.

"You got the stuff?" I heard one say.

"Yeah. You got the money?" said the other.

"You bet. Give me the coke." I turned and out of the corner of my eye I saw the man closets to me pull out a plastic bag filled with a white powder. I leaned across the table and said to Alfred "Those guys are selling drugs. Isn't that illegal in this country?"

"It is. Here I'll call the police, you stall them." He replied.

"What?! I can't do that?"

"Consider it your first field agent lesson."

So he knows that I'm not really a field agent. I took a deep breath and turned towards the two men as Alfred's thumbs moved quickly over his mobile phone.

"Do either of you know 'The Boss'" I said (Yes, I did research on American drug dealers for a case).

"Yeah, I know him." said the one that was farthest from me.

"It's a shame about what happened to him. He was my main supplier for a long time. If I ever see the person that killed him I'm gonna rip 'em to shreds." said the closer man.

Yes, I had worked with the agent that assonated him.

"There are rumors that he is still living, but just in hiding." I said, knowing he was dead.

"Really. And how would you know this?" one of them said.

"I have my connections." I replied, which wasn't a total lie.

"I don't believe you." he said.

"Have you ever had any personal meetings with him?" I asked, knowing that "The Boss" didn't meet anyone in person.

"No." he replied.

"Then he could have never existed for all you know." I shot back.

He eyed me suspiciously. Then his attention turned to Alfred whom, I assume, had finished calling the police and was engrossed in his fatting meal.

"Who's you're buddy?" he asked.

"I'm none other than the one you seek." Alfred said coolly.

This was his cover, not that other goofy personality but I have to say, I liked the carefree personality better.

"What do you mean by the 'one I seek'" the man replied.

"I am none other than 'The Boss'"

"Prove it to me."

"On August 31st my messenger got you're order mixed up and therefore received not only you're rage, but mine"

The moment Alfred had finished his spectacular performance, the police burst in and the two men were arrested. During all the confusion Alfred paid the bill and the dragged me out of the restaurant and into his car.

"Good job!" he said as he held up a thumb.

"Thanks." I said.

I think Alfred and I could have a very healthy friendship someday.

We drove home in silence mainly because I was too tired to talk and Alfred was smart enough to notice that. Maybe he is a little bit intelligent.

When we arrived at Alfred's apartment (I think) he showed me to my bed and flung myself on it and fell asleep. Jet lag really slows you down. Oh well. I have a long day tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I awoke at 0600 hours to not only the screaming of the alarm clock, but the screaming of the American in the next room over. Alfred had already proven himself to be quiet a handful when he wasn't serious (which was often). So I angrily marched myself over to his room and yelled at him for screaming at an alarm clock. It was like he had never seen one in his life! Good god he needs help.

I walked back over to my room and put on one of my suits. I brushed my hair and teeth and then yelled at Alfred because he wasn't moving fast enough and I was extremely hungry. Remember how last night I thought we could be good friends? Yeah, I take it back.

…

The drive to the CIA was easier then it was at London. We mainly took back roads (probably to ensure that no one was following us) and there wasn't any one out. This made driving much smoother and faster than it was in London. I guess that was one good point of the disaster I was in.

Alfred talked non-stop all the way there. I ignored him and just looked out the window. He didn't seem to notice since he wasn't saying anything of importance and he never left room for me to say something even if I wanted to.

We arrived at a building that looked like an old school house. I was surprised to see that this was the great CIA that had all of the top class agents and had taken down many threats to not only U.S security but world security. I guess it was to stay "undercover."

I was given a clearance pass by Alfred and he put his thumb on a finger print scanner, opening the door. We each showed our IDs to a burly man at a desk (he was also armed with a gun) and were led to an elevator. The down button was punched and the doors opened. Alfred and I walked in and Alfred hit a button that read "S4." It was the last button so I guess we were going to the bottom level. Before we could move a needle came out of the wall below the button. Alfred put his finger on it and let it take his blood. He motioned for me to do the same. I pricked my finger letting my blood run down it into a tube. We were finally able to get the elevator moving.

When we had reached our destination, the elevator door opened revealing a dimly lit room with computer everywhere and a desk at the head of the room. At the desk sat a short man with gray hair and a beard. He looked nothing like my boss.

"Hey man!" said Alfred casually.

"I told you the next time you call me that I was going to fir you!" he snapped back at Alfred.

"Oops. Sorry sir." Alfred replied.

The old man noticed me ad smiled.

"You must be the British agent that was sent to help us. I'm the boss of this department, Robert Lee. Call me Lee." He said

"Like the general?" I asked.

"Everyone says that to me."

"I'm sorry!" I apologized hastily, not wanting to start off on the wrong foot with him.

"It's okay. You get used to it after a while. Now down to business." He said as he pulled up his case file "You two are to find and demolish an Al Queda base where we believe them to be planning their next attack. Kill everyone there. We can't have them killing anymore innocent people. We are currently tracking a member that is on their way to the base. Follow him to find it and terminate him before he walks inside. You will start following him when he arrives in Madrid in three days. His first name is believed to be Abdul. His last name is unknown."

Lee pulled out a picture of Abdul and showed to us.

"Abdul the servant. Got it." I said.

"I see you know Arabic." Lee said to me.

"Yep."

"Oh, and we have sent everything you will need to you're hotel room in Italy. Each of you have you're typical hand held pistols. There's a sniper rifle for you Alfred, and a laptop for you Arthur. There is also some microphones n there so you two can stay connected." he said "And of course there's grenades and TNT in there."

Sweet! I get a laptop! I thought everything remotely close to what I was used to was gone, but at least I still have a laptop!

A buzzer went off and Lee looked at his mobile phone.

"Looks like you're ride is here. You know where to go Alfred. Good luck" he said as I was dragged toward the elevator.

We didn't have to get our blood drawn this time and the elevator took of towards the lobby without further delay. Once we were back where we started and was led out of the elevator by Alfred, but we didn't exit out of the front door like we had come in. Instead we went out a side door onto a runway. Who the hell know this was back here?!

Waiting for us was a top class gulfstream jet. We walked up the steps. The inside was quiet spacious. There four seats, two on one side and two on the other, that were well cushioned and could recline. There were televisions above each chair. I sat down in one to find that the also spin. Alfred sat across from me and buckled in. I did the same.

"I love this part of going on missions!" exclaimed Alfred excitedly.

"That's fantastic." I replied, slightly nervous.

The plane took of so I thought that I should probably get some sleep. Even Alfred was drifting off so I might want to take this chance to get a little shut eye.

…

This time I awoke to the talking of the American in the seat across from me. He looked kind of worried so I decided that maybe I would listen to him this time.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing. I just thought you were dead." He replied.

"Can't you see me breathing?"

"Oh! I guess I should have thought about that. But I was really scared there because you have no idea how much I need you."

I blushed a little and turned in my seat, ignoring the rest of the things he said. I wonder why I blushed. I guess it's just a reflex.

…

We landed at a small hanger that was owned by the CIA. Alfred and I stepped of the plane and walked into the hanger. There was a care there and we climbed in. It felt so good to be in Europe again! That weird way the American's have their cars set up and the whole driving on the wrong side of the road thing always screws me up.

An address was on the dashboard and Alfred picked it up.

"This is where we are going." He said as he imputed it in the navigational system.

We drove for about an hour before reaching a luxurious hotel. Gold lined everything and they literally had money trees. I had never stepped foot into a place like this before. I straightened my tie, suddenly feeling self conscious. I looked to Alfred for some sign of comfort, but as usual I found none.

We checked in easily and rode the elevator a while until we reached the twenty-fifth floor. I walked into the room and flopped down on the bed. The only bed. So this place had money trees but wont out two beds in one room! This sucks.

Meanwhile, Alfred was digging through our stuff and unpacking. He handed me my pistol and a belt to put all my weapons on. I strapped it on and put mu gun in the holder for it. Alfred looked up and started laughing at me

"What?" I said flustered.

"You're supposed to conceal it." he replied.

"How?"

Alfred walked over and took it off. He then proceeded to un-tuck my shirt.

"What are you doing?" I asked, blushing.

"Don't worry. This is going to help hide it."

I let him fasten the belt to my waist.

"Okay, go look in the mirror." He said.

I walked into the bathroom and looked where the belt is. I couldn't see it at all.

"So that's how you do it." I said, poking my head out of the bathroom door. Alfred smiled as he nodded.

"This stuff is yours." He said as he handed me a laptop and a microphone and earpiece.

"Thanks." I replied "We should probably test the mic and earpiece just to make sure they work."

"Cool with me dude."

We put our earpiece in and went into separate parts of the room.

"Can you hear me?" I said into the microphone.

Alfred gave a thumbs up.

"Testing. Testing. One, two, three." I heard over my earpiece.

I nodded and we took our earpieces out. I sat on the bed and flipped open my laptop. It seems the computer only reacted to my finger prints on the pad so only I had access to it. ON it were maps of previously destroyed Al Queda base camps, a reord of the case file, and records on how each of the camps were destroyed. It seems they were mainly blown up so I don't think we should use that tactic this time. The may be expecting it and may have already taken measures to stop it. I closed the computer and looked out the window while Alfred was screwing around with his sniper riffle.

Something seemed weird about the sign across from us. It was white with lights that illuminated it from below, but it seemed like there was a shadow of a person on one of the letters. I opened my computers and easily hacked the security cameras of that building. They were fine until about the time we checked in and then they all got scrambled. I don't hear any police sirens so something hasn't happened yet because it's still working hours. This was suspicious. Why would the security footage be scrambled and there be someone on the roof facing our window. I managed to find the signal that was scrambling the footage and with a little effort I unscrambled it. I looked at the footage from the roof. A man dress in black was holding a sniper riffle, similar to Alfred's, looking through the scope. Shit! He's probably bugged the room too. I put my earpiece in and put my mic on my shirt. Alfred looked quizzically at me but I nodded and he obediently put the microphone on.

I pulled out my phone and sent him a text, making sure that the signal wasn't interceptable. It basically explained the situation and told him to come over here to see the footage. He slowly crawled beneath the window and looked at the video. His eyes widened, but he remained calm.

"We're leaving. Grab you're crap." I whispered.

He maneuvered over to his stuff and managed to pack it all into one messenger sized bag. I did the same.

"Let's go get dinner!" he said in a playful tone. We got up and were almost out of the room when a bullet shattered the glass and whizzed passed my head, grazing my hair.

"Run." Said Alfred. We sprinted down the hall to the corridor marked stairs. We raced down twenty five flights of stairs (good thing I did a lot of training before I came here). We slowed to a walk as we entered the lobby.

Alfred walked over to a coat hanger and pulled two coats off. He handed one to me. It was black, bulky and had a hood. I put it on and pulled the hood over my head. Alfred put his jacket on and we casually walked out of the hotel, moving away from the building where the shot had come from.

"We need to split up. We look suspicious together." Alfred said in a hushed tone.

"Keep going straight. I'll take the back way and meet up with you at the gas station at the end of this road, It's three miles away." I replied.

"Do you know the back roads?"

"Just looked at the maps."

Alfred didn't have any time to say anything more because I had already turned down a dark ally way. I spoke into my microphone.

"Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Alfred replied.

"Good."

I took a left and started walking at a parallel to Alfred. I moved along this road until it came to a dead end and I was forced to take another left. When I was almost at the end of this ally, I was attacked from behind.

I kicked my attacker in the shin, disabling long enough for me to throw him over my back (again, thankful I trained a bunch before I was assigned here). He staggered to his feet. I noticed that it was the man on the roof.

"You okay?" Alfred asked.

I was going to have to ignore him for now. I cant put him in danger too.

The man charged at me, fist poised to punch. I easily dodged it and he ended up punching the wall behind me. He moaned in pained, leaving enough time for me to send a round house kick directly to his head. He got up, almost un-phased by my attack. He attempted to punch me again, but I dodged it, again. He swung his laeg out and tripped me. I crashed to the ground and the man took no time in beating me repeatedly with his fist. I could feel the blood pouring from head and everything seemed to go hazy. I'm not going to give up yet though. I caught one of his flying punches with in one hand and ripped his mask of with the other. He was a Middle Eastern man with a scar running down the his face from his temple to his check.

I kicked him in the groin and the stomach and forced him off of me I got up and kicked him back down the moment he tried to get up.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"No one." He replied.

"Who do you work for?"

"You know who."

"Where do you work?"

"That is why I am here. To prevent you from finding out."

"Well if you don't tell me, I have a buddy up there that's going to shoot you."

"So be it."

He grabbed my foot a forced me to the ground. I struggled against him but he was much stronger and I was loosing blood quickly. Then I remembered my gun. I freed one of my hands and pulled the gun up to his head.

"Where's you're buddy?" he asked

"Couldn't get a clean shot." I said.

I was about to pull the trigger when a far off bullet hit him in the head. He coughed blood all over my face before rolling on his side and dieing. Blood steadily spilled out of his wound as I stood up and looked to the roof of the building next to me. I saw the outline of Alfred.

"Nice shot." I said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Alfred came barreling down a fire escape ladder and ran over to me. He took my face in his hands and looked at me worriedly. Thank god blood covered my face or he would have seen my face go red.

"Oh my god you're bleeding a lot!" he said.

"You know half of this is that man's blood." I replied.

"Next time tell me to come and help you!"

"Okay."

I looked around. The man I had just fought was lying on the ground, blood seeping out of the head wound Alfred gave him. My messenger bag was next to him.

My laptop! Shit! I raced over to my bag and pulled out my laptop. It was covered in blood, but there weren't any dents (thank god). I opened it up and waited for it to start. I looked through and made sure all of the data was still there, letting out a sigh of relief when I found that everything was the way I left it (except for the blood stains). I put the laptop back in my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

"Do you have anything to wipe fingerprints with?" I asked Alfred.

"Yep! I always bring something since I usually get into situations like this." He replied.

As Alfred cleaned up, I racked my mind for a place we could stay while we're waiting for Abdul to come. There was no where around here that was affordable.

"Do you think it's safe to get the car?" I asked.

"No. They know our car we need different means of transportation." Alfred replied.

"And a place to sleep." I added.

"Well you should probably get your wound fixed up first."

"I'm fine."

"You're not. I know a place where I can wrap it up."

"Okay. It seems we don't have anywhere to go anyways."

Alfred pulled off latex gloves and carefully placed them back in his bag as he pushed his glasses up further on his nose.

"Let's get started. It's a long walk." Alfred said.

…

We weaved in and out of alleyways for about four miles before we reached the place Alfred was talking about. It was a bathroom. I can't believe we walked four miles to come to this dump.

I followed Alfred in and he pulled a first aid kit out from a compartment underneath the sink.

"There are place like these all over the world. They're disguised as disgusting places no one would want to go to so people won't find the stuff we've hidden there." Alfred explained as he washed blood from my face.

My heart beat faster and faster with every careful touch Alfred placed on my swollen face. He gently wrapped my head wound in white bandaging. He put band aids on all of my other minor scrapes.

"All set!" he said cheerfully.

"Thanks." I replied as touched the bandage on my head.

"You're just one big mess. Bigger than I remember."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Alfred pulled my hood up and shot me a smile that quickly faded when we heard footsteps approaching us, and fast. He slipped the first aid kit in his bag and began twisting the faucet on the sink. The sink lowered into the ground and I followed Alfred into the blackness. The sink rose back to its spot and I tried my best to silence my heavy breathing. Alfred was right behind me. We could see what was going on in the bathroom through the space where the mirror is.

Two Middle Eastern men walked in, one looking very familiar. They were shouting in Arabic and I tried to understand some of what they where saying.

"Where are they?!" one man yelled.

"I don't know sir." the familiar man said.

"Well figure it out Abdul!"

Abdul? As in the man who's supposed to be here in two more days?! What is he doing here so early?

"Yes sir." Abdul replied hastily.

The other man mumbled something I couldn't understand and left. Abdul paced back and forth, holding his hand in his head. He walked over to the sink so he was right in front of me, without knowing it.

I held my breath, terrified that he may have fond us out. Alfred's hand slipped into mine and gave me a reassuring squeeze. Abdul turned away from the mirror and left. I let my breath go and I leaned against Alfred. We waited there for a couple more minuets before we stepped out of our hiding spot.

"What were they saying?" Alfred asked in a hushed voice.

"That man at the mirror was Abdul. The other man seemed to be his boss. They were looking for us. I assume they found their co-workers body. Abdul is going to be looking for us so there's not much point in trying to follow him anymore." I replied.

"That's bad."

"No shit."

"Is there anyway we could find some clues about their hideout?"

"I could scan his mobile phone and his email, although I doubt he has one because he's been off the grid for so long."

"It's worth a shot."

"Well I need somewhere to set up. Have any bathrooms with spare cars in it?"

"It's not a bathroom, but I know where we can get a spare car."

…

I am currently in a warehouse staring at the oldest car I have ever seen. It is rusty and only has two seats with ropes as seatbelts.

"Are you sure this thing is safe?" I asked Alfred.

"Oh yeah!" he assured me.

I took a moment to pray for my safety before I got in the car and tied the rope around my waist. We sped out of the warehouse and drove for a little while before Alfred parked the car in a deserted parking lot. I pulled my laptop out of my bag and "set up shop." I scanned phone companies for people by the name of Abdul and then narrowed the search down to people in Madrid currently. There were none. I looked back through the case file and inserted all of the names he has gone by and got a hit. That was probably his number since it was the only one in Madrid. I immediately began tacking it. Once I found out that he was back by the hotel, I hacked his phone to see if he was stupid enough to use an email on it. As a matter of fact, he was. I easily hacked his email. This seemed way too easy.

I looked through his email to find that he had never actually used it at all. So much for that idea. At least I have his phone number so I could track him and see what texts and calls he was getting. I tracked all of his contact's numbers too. Majority of them were scattered around the Middle East, but a few were here. One seemed to be a few blocks from us too.

"Alfred, we have to get out of here." I said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Someone whom I assume is trying to kill us is two blocks from here."

"That's not good."

He threw the car in gear and we sped across the street to a parking garage. Alfred drove to the roof and stopped the car.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"Killing whoever wants to kill us." he replied as he assembled his sniper riffle at the speed of light.

He rolled down the window and stuck the gun out of it.

"Where are they?" he asked.

"Half a block. Should be showing up here soon." I replied.

I ducked down below the window incase fire was returned.

"He should b-" I was cutoff by the blast of Alfred's gun.

"Got 'em" he said.

"Then let's get out of here." I said.

I slid back into my seat.

"Alright, next we get Abdul." Alfred said.

"No. I need him to be in touch with his boss. Once we find out where the hideout is, he's all yours." I replied.

Alfred nodded and pulled out of the garage. I guided Alfred throughout the streets, avoiding Abdul and his buddies as much as possible. We reached a gas station on the outskirts of Madrid and Alfred got out to pump the gas. It was mainly dark except for one light bulb above us. No one was in the small convenience store next to us. I took my hood off. Alfred climbed back in the car, looking at my head.

"You've bleed through your bandage." He said as he began to undo the red stained wrap.

He pulled out the first aid kit and covered my head with new bandage. His hand lingered on my cheek and my face turned red. He was the only person who had ever been able to do that before. Turn my face red that is.

He smiled and brushed my hair out of my face. My stomach turned inside out. He leaned in and kissed my bandages head. My face turned redder.

"There! That should make it feel better." he said.

I was too dumbfounded to respond. How come I didn't pull away? Maybe I-na, not possible. Maybe.

"You go to sleep and I'll keep watch." Alfred said as he loaded his pistol.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Thanks. Here use my laptop so you can see whose coming. If Abdul gets a text or call, tell me."

He nodded so I wrapped my jacket around me and drifted to sleep.

…

"Arthur, you might want to wake up." Alfred said.

"Did Abdul get a text or call?" I asked.

"Nope. We are currently running from his buddies."

I was finally able to comprehend my surroundings. We were moving fast and there were five black cars behind us.

"That doesn't look good." I said.

"You any good with a sniper riffle?"

"Never laid a hand on one."

"You'll be fine."

Alfred shoved the already assembled gun at me.

"I'm going to start with the pistol first." I said, tossing the riffle to the side.

I rolled down my window and stuck my head outside. Someone pulled a pistol out and I quickly pulled my head back inside as a few shots sailed by.

"Keep your head inside." Alfred said.

I nodded as I put just the gun out and shot at the car. I managed to hit the tire and it rolled of to the side. One down, four more to go. Alfred took a sharp turn, slamming my body into his. I quickly got off of him and concentrated on my next target. I went through one round before I was able to take care of the next car, but I hit it in the engine, blowing it up. Another car got caught up in the explosion and exploded as well. I reloaded as Alfred took another turn.

I saw some petroleum cans (probably for a grill) and shot at them, blowing another car up in the process. Just one left. This one shot at us. A few hit the back window, but the glass was bullet proof. While they were reloading I fired at their engine and managed to hit it. They exploded as we sped off.

"Good job." Alfred said.

"Thanks." I replied

My laptop screen lit up. There was an incoming text for Abdul.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

A sniper attack, a fight with a sniper, a high speed car fight, and an interesting text for Abdul. This day was…extreme. Remind me to never do a field mission again.

"What does the text say?" Alfred asked.

"Go to the gate of the town place of independence to find you're new assignment." I replied.

"Are you sure you read that right? Maybe it's slang or something and not supposed to be literally translated."

"It's not slang. I learned all of that too."

"Then what is it?"

"A riddle maybe."

"I never was good at these."

"Well I am. Alright, town place of independence is probably the place where the assignment is. Abdul is probably on his way there."

"Then let's follow him."

"We can't. We want to get there before him so we can take the assignment."

"Oh."

"Know anyone who knows the area really well?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

…

Standing in front of me is an overly happy Spaniard and an Italian who smiles like he frowns. What were their names again? Antonio and Lovino? I guess that's right. They're friends of Alfred's. Alfred saved their asses in a case and so they him one.

"So what do you need?" Antonio said, smiling.

"Yeah, anyplace around here that is the town place of independence?" I replied.

"Hmmm…That's easy!" he said.

"Then tell them you ass so we can get this over with!" Lovino hissed.

"Okay Lovi~ The Plaza de Independencia."

"Is there a gate there?" I asked.

"Yep, La Puerta de Alcalá. You can't get to it on foot but as long as you drive you're okay."

"Alright, thanks dudes!" Alfred said to the two men.

We were about to leave when a girl came sprinting out of the building where the men resided. She looked a lot like Autumn, a girl that used to work at my agency but then she was transferred to a different country. I sure hope it's not her. Let's just say we had a…problem working together. Oh, she had no problem working with me; I had the problem working with her after _that _incident.

As she got closer, I realized it really was Autumn! Oh no! This is not going to be fun. I didn't know she was transferred here or that she was working with Antonio and Lovino!

I was frozen in my spot as the horror that is Autumn approached rapidly. When she reached me she tackled me almost knocking me down, but I was stronger than her frail body. Her red hair bobbed and her amber eyes bit into my skin as she got off of me and began to pout.

"Arthur you ass! You have no idea how much I was worried about you! You never called and I thought you were dead!" she said.

"Why would you make such extreme assumptions?" I replied.

She ignored me and carried on with her babbling.

"I was up crying every night for weeks! I mean who wouldn't cry when they thought the one they loved was D-E-A-D!"

I'm going to go American on you now: Oh Lord Jesus ain't nobody got time fo this. Okay, now back to reality.

"Hey Autumn, I have to go." I said.

"WHY?" she complained.

"Mission. Bye."

I grabbed a slightly dazed Alfred and threw him into the car. I got in and Alfred sped of towards la Puerta de Alcalá.

"Who was that?" Alfred asked.

"Nobody." I said.

"Well she's obviously somebody. I mean she even professed her love for you right there."

"Yeah, that's why she was transferred. One day she professed her love for me, I turned her down, and working with her was hell after that."

"Oh."

"Turn left here and step on it. Abdul is closer than us."

Alfred followed my instructions and I directed him through a shortcut to the plaza. When we got there I saw Abdul picking up a stack of papers from beneath one of the massive arches. I rolled down my window and fired my pistol, hitting him in the arm. He fell to the ground and reached for his gun, which had been flung across the ground when he fell, with his good arm. I shot his other arm the moment he stood back up. Alfred slowed to a stop.

"Nice shot. Now let's get some answers from him." Alfred said as we stepped out of the car and walked over to the severely wounded Abdul.

"I'll do the interrogation. You collect the papers incase we don't get anything out of him. Since he's seen us, we have to kill him." I replied.

"No you're thinking like a field agent."

"Thanks."

I walked over to Abdul.

"Who do you work for?" I asked him.

"Why does that matter, you don't even know my name." he replied.

"You're Abdul. Now tell me, who is you're boss?"

"I don't know. He is super top secret. No one usually sees him."

"But people have."

"Sure, if you killed off two agents."

"Then I guess you won't be seeing him. Where are you planning."

"Not telling."

"Then I can kill you."

"And I can save my people."

"Why are you working for Al Queda Abdul? They don't treat you nice, why not just leave."

"Why not? Because I have a family that they will kill if I leave."

"But I can save you're family. I have back up that will save you're family, now all I need to know is where are you planning."

"You will save my family?"

"I swear."

"They are planning the next attack at the coordinated in the folder. They're going to try and bomb the white house. Watch out for the Taliban."

With that said he took his last breath.

"Alfred please tell me that coordinates are in that folder." I said.

"Yep, but it's in Afghanistan. I thought they were hiding out in Pakistan these days."

"Those are the right coordinates, seems Al Queda and the Taliban are working together again. Let's go to Afghanistan."

"How?"

"Well, you have all the connections; know anyone going to Afghanistan now?"

He smiled at me.

"I'll give them a call."

…

I am currently starring at a violent Hungarian woman, a cheap Austrian, and a big ass C-130. So we can fly in on a luxurious Gulfstream 4 but have to fly out on cargo plane! Our means of transportation just keep getting worse and worse. This is why I usually work at a desk. Peeing in a bucket was not in y best interest.

"Arthur this is Elizabeta and Roderich. Elizabeta and Roderich, this is Arthur." Alfred said.

I nodded to them both. Elizabeta smiled but the frying pan she was carrying was a little suspicious. Roderich just nodded back and pushed his glasses up on his nose.

We boarded the plane from the large platform that extended of the back. I picked a nice spot on the floor and leaned against a box. I heard it growl so I moved and leaned on a different box. This one didn't growl, so I figured it was safe. Alfred sat down next to me and the other two sat across from us.

I studied the odd pair's features. Elizabeta had long light brown hair that was currently pulled back in a pony tail. She had bright green eyes that contrasted against her partner's amethyst eyes. He had brown hair and a pale complexion. There was this one beauty mark he had near the corner of his mouth that really got on my nerves. It just made everything so asymmetrical.

I wonder how they got paired together. They were so different. Elizabeta had a love of guns, frying pans, and hurting people while Roderich was obsessed with classical music, muttering something about Beethoven every once and a while. What's even weirder is that they seem work together really well.

"Elizabeta, it seems we have visitors." said the pilot.

"From whom?" she asked.

"The Taliban."

"We were told to watch out for them." I sighed as I picked up a nearby parachute.

However, the Hungarian and my partner both set up their guns.

"Alright let's kick some Taliban ass!" Elizabeta yelled as Roderich hastily tied down the boxes. The platform lowered and the two set up.

"Let's go man the other guns." Roderich said as he dragged me towards the machine guns that were part of the plane.

"Have you ever played one of those aerial combat games?" Roderich asked.

"I did a simulation as a test for the agency." I replied.

"It's just like that, without the spinning."

"Okay."

I sat on a seat nailed to the ground and set up. The side doors opened just a little, exposing me and the gun. I didn't even know C-130's had guns! Maybe it's just this one.

I heard Elizabeta yelling, some gunshots, and an explosion. Guess I better be ready. An F-16 zoomed into my view. I shot at it and managed to take off a wing. It fell to the ground and exploded. Where the hell did the Taliban get F-16s?! Aren't they American fighter jets? Another one came and started firing at me. I fired back, but not before being slightly grazed by one of the bullets. I hit the engine and it exploded.

"How many are attacking?" I asked Roderich as I nailed a pilot and the plane lost control, crashing.

"About seven more to go." He replied.

"How many did they send out?"

I noticed Elizabeta and Alfred seemed to be having problems with a bunch of F-16's ganging up on them. I turned my gun and fired at one until it blew up, setting off a chain reaction with the other ones.

"Maybe fourteen." Roderich shouted.

"What?! How did we get rid of them so fast?" I replied, shooting an other plane out of the sky.

"Elizabeta hasn't fought in a while so she's not holding back. She pretty scary when she doesn't hold back."

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES! YOU'LL PAY!" Elizabeta screamed as an explosion sounded.

"No shit." I said to Roderich.

"Yeah. She especially hates the Taliban. They killed her parents who were also agents." he replied.

"Well, they're paying."

Roderich laughed as he fired at another plane. It went down in flames and then everything was silent.

"What a way to spend our morning." Alfred said.

I got of my chair. There was a pain in my arm but I shook it off as I sat in my spot. Alfred noticed the blood dripping down my arm.

"Arthur you're hurt!" he said, running over and pulling off my jacket.

"It's nothing." I replied.

"It's not nothing. Getting hit with a bullet is not nothing."

He pulled off my once white shirt and began pulling the bullet out. I winced in pain, but let him get it out before disinfecting my wound and wrapping it with the all too familiar white bandaging.

"Here, I have a black shirt you can use." Roderich said as he pulled a black cotton shirt out of a box.

"Thanks." I said, pulling the shirt on.

"We're here." the pilot said.

"Welcome to Afghanistan!" Elizabeta said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Afghanistan. Desert, dessert, and look; more desert. There's nothing that could possibly be used as cover here. The plane finally landed on, guess what; desert. Elizabeta seemed extremely happy to be in the endless desert. Their mission probably involved kicking Taliban ass and, according to what I've seen, it what she loves to do.

"This is where we go our separate ways." Roderich said.

I nodded as we shook hands and waved, climbing into a camouflage colored car with Alfred. I pulled out my laptop and inputted the coordinates. It immediately showed us the location, which was only five miles away. That's weird, why would their hideout be so close to where we landed? I guess that since they are working with the Taliban now and Elizabeta and Roderich are hunting the Taliban it might just be a coincidence.

_"There are no coincidences."_

That was my boss's favorite saying. If it's not a coincidence, then what is it? Whatever. Maybe he was actually wrong for once.

It wasn't long before we were about a mile away from a small building. It had a wooden body and a metal sheet as a roof. There is no way that this could be _the_ building. It was too…fragile.

I tried to see if there was any computer source inside of it that I could hack into but there wasn't. Of course, I mean we are in the desert (You should get the point that I hate the desert).

Alfred was look through a pair of binoculars but was having a little trouble with his glasses.

"See anything?" I asked

"No, my glasses rim is in the way."

"Give that to me."

I snatched the binoculars away and held them to my eyes. There was a window on the side (that's pretty stupid) that I could look through. There was no movement what so ever.

"No ones there." I said.

"I wonder if we came too late." Alfred replied.

"No we couldn't have been."

"Then why isn't anyone there?"

"I don't know, but there isn't anything computer related in there either. Don't you find that odd?"

"Well, why don't we find out why?"

Alfred loaded his gun and smiled at me. He flipped up my hood. I blushed, but shook it off as I checked for everything in my belt. I have a really bad feeling about this. I took a deep breath.

"Don't worry, the nerves wear off as the mission drags on." Alfred said.

"Oh I don't think its nerves." I replied as we got out of the jeep.

I shivered as night began to fall on the desert. I put my gun in my hand as Alfred and I approached the shack. When we finally arrived, we lined up on either side of the door. Alfred kicked it open and we went in, guns poised. There was only a piece of paper sitting on a table in the center of the room. I assume it was meant for Abdul. Never knew al Queda was one for riddles.

I began to walk over to the table when Alfred stopped me. My eyes focused on the space in front of me and I saw a tiny metal wire. It was probably going to set of a bomb or something.

"Thanks." I whispered, not daring to move an inch in fear of setting off a trap.

"I think they expected something to happen to Abdul, so they set the traps. I guess Abdul knew this place well and he knew where the traps are." Alfred said.

He slowly pulled me away from the wire. I let out a long, relieved breath.

"I'll go get the paper." Alfred said.

I nodded as he stepped around the wire.

"Be careful, their may be bombs in the floor." I said quietly, like my talking would set something off.

Alfred nodded and said "Don't worry about me."

He slowly walked towards the table. One off step and he would be dead. He placed one foot down, and it seemed to be in the wrong spot. I covered my face as and explosion went off. I looked desperately for Alfred. When the smoke cleared I could see him still in one piece, blood dripping down his forehead and cheek.

"I told you to be careful." I said, on the verge of tears.

"I'm good!" he replied, smiling.

I have never met a human being that has smiled after almost dieing from a bomb. It doesn't work that way!

Alfred leaned over to the table and grabbed the paper, ducking just in time as a lethal knife whizzed by. I gasped and covered my eyes. Why is it so hard to watch him nearly die? Is it because he's my partner? Or because I maybe…

"You can open your eyes, I'm right here." Alfred said.

"I took my hands off of my eyes to find Alfred extremely close. He smelled like gunpowder and smoke. Go figure. We both would probably be dead if they had used nuclear bombs as the trap.

"Oh thank god. Let's go." I said.

He nodded in agreement as we ran from the building of death. When we reached the car, Alfred began getting assembling his sniper riffle.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Erasing any trace that we've ever been here." He replied as he fired two shots, blowing the hut sky high.

"I would prefer if you didn't die." I said once he got back in the car.

"I won't. Are you worried about me?" he replied.

"Well, you die, I die."

"So that's a yes."

"Yes."

He smiled and leaned in close.

"Then I swear, I won't die." he said.

I felt an intense blush coming on. In an effort to change the subject, I said "You need your wounds tended to."

"I guess I do." he said obliviously.

I sighed as I pulled the first aid kit out of Alfred's bag. The white bandage was running low. Good thing there is two rolls. I pulled Alfred's head towards mine and washed off the excess blood with a little bit of water we had stored. I used the disinfectant to, well, disinfect. Then I wrapped the three and a half inch long cut in bandages. Without thinking I kissed his bandages and said "There. All better."

Why the hell did I just do that?! Could I possibly…

Alfred looked slightly dumbfounded but then smiled. He brushed my hair back.

"Yes, it is all better."

My heart beat faster and faster. I stared at him with wide eyes and a red face.

Could I really love him?

I guess so.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"What the hell does this mean?!" Alfred yelled, frustrated.

"I don't know! You haven't let me look at it yet." I replied.

"Oh right."

I grabbed the flimsy piece of paper out of Alfred's hands. I looked at it and flipped it right side up.

"You dofus. It was up side down." I said.

"That explains so much."

I sighed as I began to read the paper left for Abdul.

_Go to where we almost ended as a result of someone ending. _

"Know when al Queda almost ended?" I asked.

"I guess that would be when we killed their leader." Alfred replied.

"Where did that happen?"

"Pakistan."

"Great. One country over."

I pulled out my laptop and found the coordinates of the place where the al Queda leader was killed. There's no way we could get there by car.

"Know anyone going to Pakistan that can pick us up on the way over?" I asked.

"Yeah, but they're on an other C-130." he replied.

I groaned but nodded to him to call them. I might as well get some sleep. There's not going to be any sleep on the cargo plane.

…

"Arthur, come play with me!" a child's voice whined.

I looked at the child. It was Alfred, but tinnier! I looked down at my body. I seemed to be a child too.

"Okay, okay." I said.

_Alfred! Why are we small?! _I wanted to say, but couldn't. Why couldn't I?

We walked to a small apple tree and sat under it, drawing in the dirt with sticks. We talked about childish things, I guess since we are children.

"Alfred! Arthur's parents are here to get him!" a woman yelled from a nearby house.

My mother? I never had parents. I was too young to remember them before they died. Then why do I have one now?

"Okay." Alfred complained as he grabbed my hand.

Before we could take one step towards the building, it exploded.

"Mom!" Alfred screamed.

I stood there in shock. Is this how my parents died? That's horrible! Why would someone kill them like that? Alfred tried to run towards the building. I grabbed him.

"Stop Alfred! You can't go in there! You'll die too!" I screamed.

"I don't care!" he replied.

He hit me one the head and I fell to the ground.

_Alfred, I care. _I thought as my vision went blurry and eventually black.

…

I awoke breathing hard. The car was not moving, but we weren't in the same spot we were when I fell asleep.

"I see you're up." Alfred said, smiling.

"Alfred, I have a question for you." I replied.

"What?"

"Did we know each other when we were kids?"

Alfred looked slightly startled, but just said "No. Why would we?"

"Just wondering."

Good. None of that happened. It really was just a dream, not some long lost memory.

I heard a plane overhead and Alfred said "Looks like our ride is here."

We got out of the car as the C-130 landed. The cargo loading door lowered and two people walked out. One was completely albino with blood red eyes. The other was just a miniature version of Alfred. Holly shit! I didn't know he had a doppelganger!

"The albino is Gilbert and the person next to him is Matthew." Alfred explained.

"Why does Matthew look just like you?" I asked.

"He's my brother of course!"

Brothers. I see. So he's not a doppelganger. That's slightly reassuring. But if they're brothers why don't they work together. I'm not complaining or anything.

"Guys, this is Arthur." Alfred said, gesturing to me.

I waved.

"Is it really you Arthur?" Matthew asked.

"Of course it is Mattie!" Alfred said with a bit of warning in his voice. Matthew immediately backed off. Why did he ask that like he knew me and hadn't seen me in a LONG time? That's weird.

We boarded the plane. Matthew ran ahead. Once he was gone Alfred asked Gilbert "Have you asked him?"

Gilbert's face went red and he replied "No. Back off. The awesome me will. We're on a mission."

I guess that's why the two brothers aren't working together.

I got on the plane. We are going to be flying overnight so I found a comfortable spot and waited for Alfred and Gilbert to fall asleep, keeping Matthew up by playing games with him.

"Matthew, I have a question for you." I whispered.

He nodded and I continued.

"Did I know you ad Alfred as a kid?"

"Why would you ask that?" he replied alarmed.

"Because I had a crazy dream where I was with Alfred and our parents were inside and the house exploded."

"Well now that you remember, there's no use hiding it. Yeah. We did. Our parents were all Agents that worked together. That day we were left to ourselves."

"Why didn't I remember something as important as that?!"

"Alfred hit you to stop you from stopping him. It was hard enough to cause you to have amnesia."

"I was that fragile?"

"Yeah. Alfred still blames himself for the whole memory thing. He probably doesn't want you to know he was the one that caused it."

"Why?"

"Don't you know? He doesn't want you to hate him. He loves you."

I stared at Matthew in shock. Is it really possible? Could he possibly love me?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_He loves you. _Matthews words whirled around in my head. Could he really?

"You look stunned." Matthew whispered because the other two were sleeping.

"I just never thought..." I replied.

"Do you love him back?"

"Of course."

"Then it's okay."

"Yeah. I guess."

"Dont worry. He'll come to his senses soon."

I smiled at him. That kid really knew how people worked. He looked like his brother, but in a way they were quite different.

Alfred moved and took a face plant into the floor. I laughed. That dofus can't even sleep upright without getting hurt. He rubbed his head and pouted.

"Stop laughing. That wasn't funny." he whined.

"Sorry." I apologized.

Gilbert's eyes fluttered open and looked around before he groaned, rubbing his back.

"Can you guys be quiet so the awesome me can get some awesome sleep." he growled.

"It's Alfred's fault." I said, pointing at Alfred.

"What?! No it's not! It's Matthew's!" Alfred complained.

"No it's not. I wasn't even part of this!" Matthew claimed defensivly.

"Just be quiet from now on so I can get some sleep." Gilbert moaned, closing his eyes again.

Matthew snuggled up close to Gilbert and closed his eyes as well. Gilbert's face turned pink as Matthew settled in.

"I'm going to try and get some sleep too." Alfred said.

"Sounds like a good idea." I replied.

Alfred smiled as he laid down on the hard floor, taking me with him. My head landed on his chest and he closed his eyes. I could hear his steady heartbeat, thumping like footsteps on a hollow floor. I willed mine to slow down, but it refused. I could feel the burn of my red face. Good thing Alfred's eyes are closed.

I looked up at his peaceful face. His glasses were crooked on his face and his messy blonde hair streaked his slightly tanned skin. I smiled and took off his glasses, laying them on a nearby box. How can he be so calm at a time like this? I guess he is more experienced at field work than I am, but still, any normal person would be a little bit nervous. Then again, this is the guy who laughed after almost dying. He's not exactly normal.

...

I didn't get a wink of sleep the entire plane ride. Not only was I on the uncomfortable floor of a cargo plane, I was laying on Alfred. These two factors kept me wide awake.

Alfred woke up before Matthew and Gilbert. I quickly shut my eyes when I heard him stir, pretending to be asleep. I don know why, I just was. I felt his chest move up and I began to slid down his body. He caught me before I slid down too much and immediately laid back down. He slowly stroked my hair as he quietly hummed a little tune.

I wanted to "wake up" and hug him. I wanted to tell him how I felt. I wanted to feel his loving touch forever, but I just lay there, pretending to sleep. Why couldn't I just tell him? As soon as the mission was over I would be going back to HQ so I wouldn't have to deal with awkwardness forever if he turned me down. But if he didn't I wouldn't see him again. Sure, we could do the Skype thing, but long distance relationships never work out. Maybe, I'll tell him once this is all done. Yeah, when this is all over I'll tell him how I feel.

Alfred's stopped stroking my hair arrubtly. I opened my eyes slowly, making it seem as if I had been sleeping as long as he had. He looked down at me and smiled. His glasses were on again. I smiled back feebly.

"Good morning!" Alfred said in a sing song voice.

"Morning." I replied.

I propped myself up on my elbows, leaning on Alfred's chest. Alfred pushed my hair out of my face with a careful, steady hand. I felt my face turn an annoying shade of red. Why did that happen? I'll look it up later.

Alfred's hand gently ran across my reddening cheek. His fingers glided on my hot skin until his fingers were gracefully caressing my lips. His index finger lingered on my bottom lip before he tilted my chin up and kissed me. It was short. It was sweet. It was enough to make my heart flutter and my stomach turn.

When we broke, I was slightly disappointed, but not for long.

"I love you Arthur." Alfred whispered into my ear.

I hugged him as I said "I love you to."

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. We stayed there for a while, but then we heard an explosion and were forced to spring into action.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

One explosion.

One wing down.

An other one.

Remaining wing down.

We were crashing. You can't fly without wings.

I was thrown about the cabin like a ragdoll as the plane spiraled out of control. I searched for parachutes, but I couldn't find any. Damn it! Why don't we have parachutes? And why did we fly in a C-130 again? I hate cargo planes.

I fell on top of Alferd. I looked up at his surprisingly calm face. He was always calm in situations like these. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. What is he doing? This is not the time for him to hug me!

"I will always protect you. I am your hero." he said squeezing me tighter as I braced myself for impact.

I expected a crash. I expected pain. I expected death. However, Alfred decided otherwise. Before I knew it Alfred had thrown the both of us out the side door of the plane and we were hurling through the air, Gilbert and Matthew close behind us. Alfred turned his body, so he was free falling back first.

"You're goin to die if you hit the ground like that." I managed to say.

"I'll protect you with my life." He said smiling.

I blushed. God! Why am I doing silly thing like this when I am falling through the air without a parachute?! I need to prioritize better.

The tan, dry sand just got closer and closer. I closed my eyes and buried my head in Alfred's warm chest. At times like these, I really think he's invincable. That was far from the truth.

I didn't hear sound from Alfred as he hit the ground and we skidded to a stop. I felt his grip loosen and I immediantly sat up. His eyes were barely open and sand covered his face. I brushed as much of as possible while screaming his name frantically. Matthew and Gilbert didn't look to hot either. Jumping out of a plane was better than getting crushed by it, if we lived. At this point, it seemed our chances were slim and none.

I felt tears roll down my face, cleaning the sand that had pasted itself on me. Alfred weakly pulled his hand up to wipe on stray tear.

"Don't cry. I told you I would protect you." He said.

"But I don't want you to die!" I said.

"I won't die as long you live. Now go finish the mission, you can do it."

"What about you?!"

"I told you I'm fine. As long as you never give up, I won't either."

I took a shacky breath and nodded. He smiled, brushing my untamed hair out of my face with an unsteady hand. I grabbed it, refusing to let go for fear that he might slip away.

"Go." he said.

I suddenly remembered my messenger bag that was still glued to my body. I should have something like a radio in here that he call for help with. I began rummaging through the ragged bag and pulled out a small device with one button on it. It had an antenna that pulled out of it like a cable T.V. I gave it to Alfred.

"Use this to get help." I said.

He smiled and nodded and I began on my journey. I had already looked at map to the place and had it memorized, so I needed a way of finding direction. I don't think my laptop survived. Do I have a compass in here? I dug around in the bag once more and found nothing I could use. I thought for a moment before it hit me. Just use the sun! It seems like it was early morning, so I would be walking towards the sun. I set off on my quest. I had to do this for Alfred. That stupid guy jumped out of a plane for me. He's so headstrong. Never gives up. It's probably a good thing in this situation. I have to be like him now. I have to be headstrong.

...

I hate the desert! Why the hell does it have to be so bare?! There is no where to hide. What am I supposed to do? Walk right into this al Queda hideout and say "Hey, I'm going to kill you all now!" God, why did they have to meet in the desert? There are probably traps everywhere! What am I supposed to do? Ugg.

I paced back and forth with my hand on my forehead. It didn't matter that I wasn't hiding. There was no place to hide! I looked at the house in the distance and noticed two gas tanks that were next to cars. Holy crap! If I could hit them it would blow the place skyhigh and there, mission complete. It almost seems too easy. Way too easy. I went through all that fucking pain for this! I hate field work. it always ends up being way to easy when it was way too hard when you started out.

I pulled out my pistol and aimed it at the gas tanks. I only have one shot. Once they hear the noise, they'll come running. I took a deep breath and focused. Alright, let's do this.

I shot. And missed. I quickly took another shot and it reached the target. The gas tanks exploded, bringing the cara into their firey torture. I felt slightly accomplished when I realized those traps they set were also going off. Underground bomb after underground bomb fired, sending dirt flying everywhere. I could hear the screams from inside, but I was more concerned with the advancing explosions. I turned and ran, but bombs are faster. The ground under me broke as I was caught in the trap. The last thing I remembered was helicopters flying overhead before I blacked out. He really does have connections everywhere.

...

"Stay strong Arthur." A distant voice said.

Was it Alfred's?

"Alfred!" I called out, but I got no response.

Please help me Alfred! It was no use in mentally pleading. The darkness is already here, ready to take me away. Goodbye world. Goodbye England. Goodbye Alfred.

Alfred! I must see him again! I will not just die without seeing Alfred one more time.

...

I gasped as my eyes flew open. I breathed heavily. It was like I had held my breath for too long. It sat up and looked around. Alfred was staring at me with wide eyes and Matthew and Gilbert looked throughly stunned.

"What's wrong guys?" I asked as I held my now pounding head.

No one spoke. Matthew kept looking from something behind me to me. I turned and saw a machine. It was the one that measured your heart rate and what not. It read zero and there was a flat line. All of a sudden, it started to pick back up again.

"Guys?" I asked.

"You were dead!" Matthew exclaimed "You're a zombie!"

"Wow! I am most certainly not a zombie. I don't have a urge to eat brains." I replied.

"We should probably leave. My awesomeness is too much." Gilbert said.

Gilbert lead Matthew out of the room. I looked at Alfred who was still staring at me. He was bandaged on nearly all visible parts of his body.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Me? What about you?" He replied, slightly angered.

"I'm fine. You're the one who fell out of a plane."

"You're the one that almost got blown up by a bomb, died, and came back to life."

"I never died."

"Yes you did. The machine reached zero!"

"If that's true, then you're the one that brought me back to life."

He looked at me surprised.

"What?"

"I don't know what was going on but I heard you're voice and was about to give up and then I remembered our promise and I woke up."

"Came back to life."

"Whatever."

Alfred got up and encased me in his strong, yet gentle, arms.

"Don't ever do it again." He whispered.

I nodded and put my arms around him. I love him so much, it scary. But it also kept me going. He's the reason I'm alive, I'm sure.

I pulled away and looked at his sky blue eyes. So careing. I slowly pulled him toward me until our lips touched.

"I love you." I said when we broke.

"I love you more." He replied and he pressed our foreheads together.


End file.
